Echocardiographic and clinical correlations in infectious endocarditis of the left heart

The echocardiographic features were correlated with the clinical findings and outcome in 35 patients with aortic and/or mitral valve endocarditis. There were 26 males and 9 females with a mean age of 38 years. The infection involved native valves in 27 patients and prosthetic valves in 8 patients. Echocardiographically, fourteen patients had involvement of native aortic valve. All patients in this group required surgical intervention, nine patients during antimicrobial therapy. Congestive heart failure was the clinical indication for valvular replacement. A patient died immediately after surgery from low cardiac output syndrome. Six patients had echocardiographic evidence of aortic and mitral valves involvement. A patient in this group expired before surgery, five underwent surgery because of progressive heart failure (aortic or aortic and mitral valves replacement). Seven patients showed lesions on native mitral valve (6 in this group had prolapse syndrome). A patient died from cerebrovascular embolus, two underwent surgery because of persistent infection and embolic events, four were successfully treated with medical therapy. Among patients with prosthetic valve endocarditis, four showed signs of valvular dehiscence and required surgical intervention, during antimicrobial therapy, from congestive heart failure; one patient expired from recurrent infection. The pathological findings correlated well with echocardiographic findings. Conclusions: in IE the localization of lesions by echo has prognostic significance: most patients with aortic valve or aortic and mitral valves endocarditis require early surgical intervention because of congestive heart failure. On the contrary, mitral valve involvement carries a better prognosis, requiring less frequently valvular replacement; the patients with echocardiographic signs of prosthetic valve dehiscence require urgent intervention.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Infective endocarditis in opiate addicts: analysis of 80 cases studied at necropsy

Eighty opiate addicts were studied at necropsy. Fifty-nine patients had anatomic evidence of active infective endocarditis (IE); 11 had healed IE; and 10 had both. Of the 80 patients, the first episode of IE involved a single right-sided cardiac valve in 24 patients (30%); both a right- and a left-sided valve in 13 patients (16%); a single left-sided valve in 33 patients (41%); and both left-sided valves in 10 patients (13%). Of the 320 cardiac valves in the 80 patients, 103 were sites of vegetations, an average of 1.3 of the 4 valves. Of the 80 patients, the tricuspid valve was infected in 35 (44%), mitral in 34 (43%), aortic in 32 (40%) and pulmonic in 2 (3%). Of the 103 infected cardiac valves, the infection caused sufficient damage to cause dysfunction in 70 (68%): in 28 (88%) of 32 infected aortic valves; in 22 (63%) of 35 infected tricuspid valves; in 19 (56%) of the 34 infected mitral valves; and in 1 of the 2 infected pulmonic valves. Of the 80 patients, 57 (71%) had sufficient valvular damage to cause valvular dysfunction. Of the 80 patients, gross examination of the valves at necropsy indicated that the infected valve almost certainly had been anatomically normal in 65 patients (81%) and abnormal in 15 patients (19%) before the onset of IE. Of the 65 patients with previously anatomically normal valves, 86 (33%) of their 260 cardiac valves were sites of infection (average 1.3 valves/patient); of the 15 patients with infection superimposed on a previously abnormal valve, the infection in each involved previously abnormal valves (21 in the 15 patients) or 17 (28%) of their 60 cardiac valves were sites of infection (average 1.1 valve/patient). Of the 15 patients with abnormal cardiac valves before the infection, 7 had congenitally bicuspid aortic valves and 8 had diffuse fibrous thickening of the mitral valve typical of rheumatic heart disease with (6 patients) or without (2 patients) diffuse fibrous thickening of tricuspid aortic valves. Of the 80 patients, 42 (53%) died during their first episode of active IE, 17 (21%) underwent operative excision with or without valve replacement during the active IE, and in 21 patients (26%) the first episode of active IE healed. In 10 of the latter 21 patients, active IE recurred and was fatal. A total of 19 patients had cardiac valve excision with or without replacement, 17 during active IE and 2 after healing.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

急诊心脏瓣膜替换25例报告

目的:探讨急诊心脏瓣膜替换手术时机和围手术期处理措施。方法:1995年1月至2009年5月,对急性心脏瓣膜功能障碍致急性心肺功能衰竭施行急诊瓣膜置换25例,其中男性15例,女性10例,年龄12～64岁,术前心功能均为Ⅳ级。二尖瓣病变17例,其中二尖瓣机械瓣替换术后血栓形成致人工瓣膜功能障碍7例,人工瓣膜性心内膜炎并瓣周漏4例,感染性心内膜炎致急性二尖瓣腱索及乳头肌断裂并二尖瓣重度关闭不全5例,二尖瓣关闭不全并预激症1例。主动脉瓣病变8例,其中感染性心内膜炎并主动脉穿孔致急性心力衰竭(心衰)3例,血栓形成致人工瓣功能障碍2例,主动脉关闭不全并主动脉窦瘤破裂致急性心衰2例,外伤性主动脉瓣撕裂致主动脉瓣重度关闭不全1例。二尖瓣替换18例,其中再次心脏瓣膜替换11例,同时施行三尖瓣成形9例,异常传导束旁路切断1例。主动脉瓣替换8例。置入机械瓣22例,生物瓣3例。主动脉阻断时间34～80 min,转流时间70～160 min。结果:早期死亡1例,死于术后严重低心排综合征(低心排),其余病例术后恢复顺利,随访1～13年,心功能恢复良好。结论:及时、准确诊断,果断抉择手术时机,合理选择术式及良好围术期处理是进一步提高手术疗效的关键。     

Results of surgical treatment in acute native endocarditis. Apropos of 41 patients

This study was based on the analysis of 41 cases of infectious endocarditis of native valves operated during the acute phase. Patients with bacteriological cures, prosthetic valve endocarditis and endocarditis on congenital non-valvular lesions were excluded. There were 32 men and 9 women with an average age of 49 years. The valve lesions were aortic incompetence, mitral incompetence, mitro-aortic disease and mitro-tricuspid disease. Fourteen patients had preexisting valvular disease (rhumatic in 12 and congenital in 2 cases). These patients were in an advanced clinical state at the time of operation: 23 Class IV, 16 Class III and 2 Class II operated for systemic embolism. The surgical indications were severe cardiac failure in 30 cases, systemic embolism in 2 cases and persistance of septicaemia with worsening cardiac function in 9 cases. The causal organism was isolated from blood cultures in 34 cases (83%) and from the excised valve in 13 cases. The early postoperative mortality during the first month was 5 patients (3 cases of aortic incompetence associated with mitral incompetence and 2 cases of aortic incompetence alone). Death was caused in most cases by irreversible cardiac failure related to the advanced preoperative cardiac failure. All the other patients were followed up for 1 to 102 months (average 44 months). There were 7 late postoperative deaths. The mortality rate was 3.4% per patient year including patients undergoing chronic haemodialysis. The actuarial survival was 79% at 78 months excluding the operative mortality.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Infectious endocarditis. A study of 50 patients in a non-university hospital

The authors report the results of a single centre study of 50 consecutive patients (average age 66 +/- 14 years; 36 men), admitted between 1992 and 2001 to a peripheral hospital for infectious endocarditis (IE). The median interval to diagnosis was 57 days. There was an underlying cardiac disease in 52% of cases, usually valvular (42%). The site of the IE was the mitral valve in 21 cases, the aortic valve in 19 cases, mitro-aortic valves in 5 cases, native tricuspid valves in 2 cases and pacing catheters in 4 cases (associated with valvular endocarditis in one patient). The causal organism was usually a streptococcus (60%, including 28% of streptococcus bovis), or a staphylococcus (22%): no organism could be found in 7 patients. The average follow-up was 33 +/- 30 months: surgery was indicated in half the patients and 3 patients were turned down because of their poor general condition. In all, 34% of patients died (24% of their IE) in a median interval of 6 months, mainly from infectious or haemodynamic complications. Poor prognostic factors were: age > 70 years, "blind" antibiotic therapy, large-sized vegetations, embolism and renal failure. These data, comparable to the results observed in large series in the literature, underline the importance of multi-disciplinary management of IE and strict prophylaxis.     

Human valvular substitutes for the treatment of complex progressive endocarditis. Application to aortic, mitral and tricuspid valves

The aim of this study was to assess the immediate and long-term results of human valvular substitutes (homografts and autografts) in the treatment of complex progressive endocarditis in aortic, mitral and tricuspid valves. Since 1992, 80 patients (64 men, 16 women) aged 44 +/- 16 years (range 15 to 76 years), were treated. In 53 patients, the endocarditis involved native valves, 4 on previously plastified valves, or prosthetic valves in 27 patients. The endocarditis was recurrent 6 patients. The lesions were situated on the aortic valve (N = 59), mitral valve (N = 5), aortic and mitral valves (N = 12), aortic and tricuspid valves (N = 3), mitral and tricuspid valves (N = 1). The peroperative findings confirmed the lesions diagnosed at echocardiography: prosthetic valve dehiscence (27 patients), prosthetic cusp tear (N = 7), vegetations (N = 61), perforations (N = 48), periannular abscess (N = 47), aorto-ventricular discontinuity (N = 12), aorto-mitral discontinuity (N = 7), right ventricular aortic fistula (N = 1), aorto-pulmonary fistula (N = 1), pseudo-aneurysm (N = 1), ventricular septal defect (N = 1). Eighty-six human valvular substitutes were used (double homograft in 6 patients): aortic homograft (N = 63), pulmonary in the aortic position (N = 1), the mitral position (N = 12), of which 8 were in the mitral and 4 in the tricuspid position, pulmonary autograft (N = 10). Ten mitral valve repairs were performed on infected lesions. Associated procedures included mitral valve repair (N = 5), tricuspid valve repair (N = 1) for non-infarcted valve lesions, replacement of the ascending aorta (N = 2), the aortic arch (N = 1), coronary bypass surgery (N = 2) and one nephrectomy. The hospital mortality was 5% (4 patients). The causes of death were: infarction (N = 2), myocardial failure (N = 1) and multiorgan failure (N = 1). Four early reoperations were required for technical problems, none for endocarditis. Seventy-three of the 76 survivors were followed up for 43 +/- 24 months (range 1 to 84 months). Eight patients died during follow-up, but only 1 of cardiac causes (operation for recurrent endocarditis in a drug abuser). Seven operations were performed, 3 for technical problems or structural failure, 4 for recurrent endocarditis. At 5 years' follow-up, the survival was 81 +/- 5%; 88 +/- 6% of patients were free of endocarditis, 77 +/- 6% had no reoperation: no patient had thromboembolic complications. These results show that human valvular substitutes are adapted for the treatment of complex, progressive aortic, mitral and tricuspid valve endocarditis when techniques of valvular repair are no longer feasible.     

Infective endocarditis in elderly patients

Infective endocarditis (IE) in elderly patients is a serious disease with significant morbidity and mortality. IE presents unique diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in the elderly. A heightened index of suspicion is necessary due to the atypical presentations of IE among the elderly. Underlying degenerative valvular disease, mitral valve prolapse, and presence of a prosthetic valve are important predisposing risk factors for IE in the elderly. IE in the elderly is somewhat more common in men. The mitral valve is affected somewhat more frequently compared with the aortic valve. Streptococci and staphylococci are the predominant organisms, recovered in approximately 80% of elderly patients with IE. The presence of calcific valvular lesions and prosthetic valves often confound echocardiographic findings in the elderly. Aggressive diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are mandatory for a favorable outcome of IE in this group of patients.     

Thrombosis and endocarditis in prosthetic heart valves, a case report.

The authors report the case of a 49-year-old female with a history of rheumatic valvular heart disease who underwent valve surgery in 1997, with implantation of St. Jude prosthetic valves in aortic and mitral position. She was asymptomatic until the end of July 2001, when she was admitted to Garcia de Orta Hospital emergency unit because of heart failure, fever and suspicion of endocarditis. Cardiologic evaluation was requested and the transthoracic (TTE) and transesophageal (TEE) echocardiograms revealed vegetations on the prosthetic mitral valve. Blood cultures were negative. She started empiric antibiotic therapy and the clinical course stabilized in the first week. After ten days of medical therapy her symptoms became worse and TTE and TEE were repeated. TTE showed significant left ventricular-aortic gradient, suggesting aortic valve obstruction. Decreased left ventricular function was now present with hypokinesia in the anterior descending coronary artery territory. In the TEE, a large thrombotic process on the mitral prosthesis valve was seen, with a prosthesis disk blocked. There were similar findings in the aortic valve. Cardiac fluoroscopic images were obtained at the mitral and aortic position confirming the TEE report. The coronary angiogram was normal. Promptly transferred to a cardiac surgery center, the patient underwent aortic and mitral prosthetic valve replacement. The intraoperative findings were compatible with those from echocardiography and cardiac fluoroscopy.     

Infectious endocarditis of the right heart. Apropos of 10 cases

Ten cases of right-sided infective endocarditis (IE) were recorded in a retrospective study over a 5 year period (1984-88). In 8 cases, IE complicated known congenital heart disease. One patient was followed up for rhumatic valvular disease and in the remaining case, IE seemed to have occurred on a normal valve. The inclusion criteria were based on the clinical signs: prolonged pyrexia, the finding of a new murmur or a change on cardiac auscultation, and eventually, the occurrence of a complication (7 cases). The commonest complications were right ventricular failure and pulmonary embolism. A portal of entry was found in 5 cases: dental infection in 3 cases, osteomyelitis in 1 case and an abscess on the right leg in 1 case. Blood cultures were positive in 5 cases and grew a staphylococcus aureus on each occasion. Two-dimensional echocardiography showed vegetations in 9 cases. The short-term outcome was satisfactory. There were no fatalities and 5 patients underwent surgery.     

Infective endocarditis at autopsy: a review of pathologic manifestations and clinical correlates

The frequency of autopsies appears to be declining, and the usefulness has been challenged. We reviewed cases of autopsied active infective endocarditis (IE) during 2 periods based on the availability of high-tech 2-dimensional echocardiograms: Period 1 (P1) included 40 cases studied from 1970 to 1985, and Period 2 (P2) included 28 cases seen from 1986 to 2008--that is, before and after the introduction of echocardiograms in our institution. We conducted the study to reassess the pathology of IE and to determine how frequently diagnosis is not made during life.The age of patients increased 10 years on average between the 2 periods, and comorbidities were significantly more frequent in P2. While the frequency of rheumatic valve disease and prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE) decreased, degenerative valve disease increased. Isolated mitral or aortic valve IE was most common. Right-sided IE was observed in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia from infected venous lines. In most cases IE involved only the cusps of cardiac valves. "Virulent" microorganisms caused ulcerations, rupture, and perforation of the cusps and necrosis of chordae tendiniae and perivalvular apparatus. In PVE the lesions were located behind the site of attachment, and vegetations were seen on the sewing ring in both metallic and biologic prostheses. Infection spread to adjacent structures and myocardium with ring abscess observed in 88% of cases. Prosthetic detachment causing valve regurgitation was associated with abscesses in 76% of cases; these patients developed persistent sepsis and severe cardiac failure. Obstruction occurred in patients with PVE of the mitral valve. Acute purulent pericarditis was observed in 22% of cases, mainly in patients with aortic valve IE and myocardial abscesses.Gross infarcts were seen in 63% of cases but were asymptomatic in most instances. The spleen, kidneys, and mesentery were the sites most frequently involved. Myocardial infarctions were found in less than 10% of cases. Abscesses were also frequently found and were a common source of persistent fever and bacteremia. Glomerulonephritis was more common in the first period. Brain pathology consisted of ischemic and hemorrhagic infarcts and abscesses. Cerebral bleeding was more frequent in patients with PVE on anticoagulant therapy. Neutrophilic meningitis was observed in S. aureus IE.Diagnosis of IE was not made during life in 14 (35%) cases during P1 and 12 (42.8%) cases in P2. Overall, diagnosis was missed until autopsy in 38.2% of cases. IE was hospital acquired in 28 instances. While a clinical diagnosis was made in all but 4 cases of early-onset PVE (23.5%), the diagnosis was not made during life in 22 of 51 patients with native-valve IE (43.1%). Of these 22 patients, IE was hospital acquired in 11 (50%). The absence of fever, cardiac murmurs, and many of the typical stigmata of endocarditis may have led to the diagnosis being overlooked clinically.Brain bleeding, cardiac failure and less frequently acute myocardial infarct were the most common causes of death.IE continues to be missed frequently until autopsy. Postmortem examination is an important tool for evaluating the quality of care, and for guiding teaching and research related to cardiovascular infections.     

Impact of Bicuspid Aortic Valve on Complications and Death in Infective Endocarditis of Native Aortic Valves

We retrospectively investigated the impact of bicuspid aortic valve on the prognosis of patients who had definite infective endocarditis of the native aortic valve.Of 51 patients, a bicuspid aortic valve was present in 22 (43%); the other 29 had tricuspid aortic valves. On average, the patients who had bicuspid valves were younger than those who had tricuspid valves. Patients with a tricuspid valve had larger left atrial diameters and were more likely to have severe mitral regurgitation.Periannular complications, which we detected in 19 patients (37%), were much more common in the patients who had a bicuspid valve (64% vs 17%, P = 0.001). The presence of a bicuspid valve was the only significant independent predictor of periannular complications. The in-hospital mortality rate in the bicuspid group was lower than that in the tricuspid group; however, this figure did not reach statistical significance (9% vs 24%, P = 0.15). In multivariate analysis, left atrial diameter was the only independent predictor associated with an increased risk of death (hazard ratio, 2.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.1–4.5; P = 0.031).In our study, patients with infective endocarditis in a bicuspid aortic valve were younger and had a higher incidence of periannular complications. Although a worse prognosis has been reported previously, we found that infective endocarditis in a native bicuspid aortic valve is not likely to increase the risk of death in comparison with infective endocarditis in native tricuspid aortic valves.Key words: Aortic valve/abnormalities/pathology/ultrasonography, aortic valve insufficiency/classification/diagnosis, echocardiography/methods, endocarditis, bacterial/complications/mortality/pathology/ultrasonography, heart defects/congenital, heart diseases/complications, heart valve diseases/classification/complications/congenital/pathology, hospital mortality, retrospective studies, risk factorsBicuspid aortic valve is the most common congenital cardiac malformation, affecting 1% to 2% of the population.¹ The incidence of infective endocarditis (IE) in the bicuspid aortic valve population ranges from 10% to 30%. Twenty-five percent of IE cases occur in a bicuspid aortic valve.^2,3Few data exist about IE in persons who have a bicuspid aortic valve, in contrast with the large amount of data involving other IE populations. Risk stratification is an important objective in the evaluation of patients who have IE, especially IE of the aortic valve. In patients with IE of the native valve, acute heart failure occurs more frequently in association with aortic valve infection (29%) than mitral valve infection (20%).⁴ In view of these factors, we sought to evaluate the impact of bicuspid aortic valve on complications and death related to IE that occurs in a native aortic valve.     

Infective endocarditis (IE) first diagnosed at autopsy: analysis of 31 cases in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

Thirty one infective endocarditis (IE) fatal cases whose diagnosis was first obtained at autopsy were studied. The clinical data of these patients (Group 1) showed significant differences compared to other 141 IE cases (Group 2). The average age of 53 years in Group 1 patients was 18 years higher than that of Group 2. The Group 1 patients had a low frequency of IE predisposing heart disease. Both patient groups presented fever (about 87%), but a significant low frequency of cardiac murmur (25.8%) was observed in Group 1 patients and echocardiography tests were performed in only 16.1%, suggesting that IE diagnosis was not suspected. Likewise, although most Group 1 patients appeared with severe acute illness, they did not present the classic IE clinical presentation. Blood cultures were performed in only 64.5% of the Group 1 patients. However, bacteria were isolated in 70% of these blood cultures and Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in 71.4%. The bacteria attacked mitral and aortic valves. Complications such as embolizations and cardiac failure occurred in almost half of the cases and they also presented with infections of the lungs, urinary tract, and central nervous system. Medical procedures were performed in practically all fatal cases whose diagnosis was first obtained at autopsy. Sepsis occurred in about half of the patients and it was followed by shock in more than 25%. This form of IE must be suspected in mature and in old febrile hospitalized patients having infection predisposing diseases, embolization, and suffering medical procedures.     

Valvular heart disease in the primary antiphospholipid syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of cardiac valvular involvement in patients with the primary antiphospholipid syndrome. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study with evaluation of case patients and control patients by Doppler echocardiography. The mean follow-up for case patients was 22 months. SETTING: University-based tertiary medical center. PATIENTS: Twenty-eight consecutive patients who were diagnosed with the primary antiphospholipid syndrome during a 10-year period; 28 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Ten patients (36%; 95% Cl, 19% to 56%) with the primary antiphospholipid syndrome had cardiac valvular involvement: Four patients had mitral valve involvement; four patients, aortic valve involvement; and two patients, both mitral and aortic valvular involvement; no patients had tricuspid or pulmonary valve disease. Eight of 10 patients had a regurgitant murmur. None of the control patients had valvular disease. The mean mitral valve thickness in patients with mitral valve involvement was 7.0 +/- 1.6 mm, compared with 2.7 +/- 0.8 mm in patients with normal valves and 3.2 +/- 0.9 mm in the control group. The mean aortic valve thickness in patients with aortic valve involvement was 3.8 +/- 0.5 mm compared with 1.4 +/- 0.3 mm in patients with normal valves and 1.4 +/- 0.5 mm in the control group. Stenotic lesions were not found. Regurgitation was severe in two patients (one required surgery), moderate in three patients, and mild in three patients. CONCLUSIONS: Valvular involvement is frequently found in patients with the primary antiphospholipid syndrome. The lesions are left-sided, causing regurgitation that may be clinically important.     

Multiple abscessing of valvular apparatus of the heart in a patient with secondary infectious endocarditis

Progressive growth of infectious endocarditis morbidity has been noted in the world during recent 10 years. Among secondary forms of endocarditis rate of congenital heart defects is 21%. According to data of M.K. Rybakova (2007) the highest risk of development of infectious endocarditis (74%) is noted on bicuspid aortic valve. We present a clinical case of the patient C. with bicuspid aortic valve, secondary infectious endocarditis of aortic and mitral valves complicated with multiple abscessing of valvular apparatus of the heart. The following operation was carried out: mitral valve replacement with mechanical prosthesis ON-X 27 - 29 with preservation of subvalvular structures of posterior mitral valve leaflet, and replacement of aortic valve with mechanical prostheses ON-X-23. Despite development of severe complications in the patient C the outcome of disease was favorable. After course of rehabilitation the patient returned to work.     

感染性心内膜炎应用人工瓣膜和自体瓣膜的病原菌及赘生物附着的临床分析

目的:研究感染性心内膜炎(IE)的临床特点及病原菌的变迁,比较人工瓣膜心内膜炎(PVE)及自体瓣膜心内膜炎(NVE)在致病微生物及赘生物附着部位方面的特点.方法:检索我院2003-05到2008-05符合Duke标准的266例住院治疗的IE患者,进行回顾性分析,并分为PVE(n=37)及NVE(n=229)两组进行比较.结果:91.4%(243/266)的IE患者存在基础心脏疾病,包括先天性心脏病101例,非风湿性瓣膜病77例,风湿性心脏病62例,肥厚型梗阻性心肌病3例.82.0%(218/266)发现赘生物,常见附着部位依次为主动脉瓣、二尖瓣、主动脉瓣合并二尖瓣.血培养阳性率49.5%(103/208).致病菌中革兰氏阴性杆菌及真菌呈增长趋势.PVE组常见致病菌依次为革兰氏阴性杆菌,葡萄球菌及真菌;NVE组为链球菌,葡萄球菌及革兰氏阴性杆菌.PVE组与NVE组相比赘生物检出率低(P<0.01),但血培养阳性率高(P<0.01).链球菌、凝固酶阴性葡萄球菌及革兰氏阴性杆菌,在两组培养致病菌间差异有统计学意义(P<0.05).早期和晚期PVE细菌谱不同.PVE组的住院总病死率高于NVE组.结论:IE患者的疾病谱及致病菌与既往报道相比均有较明显改变,PVE与NVE常见致病菌及赘生物检出率不同,应及时行血培养及经食管超声心动图检查,根据药物敏感试验结果应用有效的抗生素,同时应积极预防医源性感染.     

Contribution of echocardiography and immediate surgery to the management of severe aortic regurgitation from active infective endocarditis

The timing of surgery in patients with severe aortic regurgitation and left ventricular (LV) failure, particularly when associated with active infective endocarditis (IE), is of the utmost importance. From July 1982 to May 1984, 34 patients, aged 15 to 60 years, with severe aortic regurgitation underwent immediate (within 24 hours of diagnosis) aortic valve surgery. All patients were in New York Heart Association class IV for LV failure. Eighteen patients had right-sided heart failure. Decision for immediate surgery was based on the echocardiographic demonstration of diastolic closure of the mitral valve or of vegetations on the aortic valve. Premature closure of the mitral valve was demonstrated echocardiographically in 17 patients, 13 of whom had diastolic crossover of LV and left atrial pressure tracings recorded at surgery. IE of the aortic valve was confirmed at surgery in 29 patients, 27 of whom had vegetations on echocardiography. Seven patients required replacement of both aortic and mitral valves. Antibiotic therapy for IE was started immediately after blood cultures were taken and continued for 4 to 6 weeks postoperatively. The mortality rate within 30 days of surgery was 6% for the group as a whole and 7% for those with IE. Mean follow-up period for the 32 survivors was 10.6 months. There were 2 late deaths. No patient had periprosthetic regurgitation or persistence of endocarditis. Procrastination in referral for surgery of these extremely ill patients is not justified and is likely to be associated with higher risks of morbidity and mortality.     

Conservative mitral valve surgery in the treatment of mitral regurgitation due to infective endocarditis. Report of 21 cases

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the feasibility of mitral valve repair in patients with infective endocarditis (IE). METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty-seven patients operated for mitral endocarditis between 1995 and 2005; 21 underwent mitral valve repair. The repair was performed for acute endocarditis in seven patients at a median of 14 days after the onset of treatment and 14 patients for healed endocarditis after a median of six months. RESULTS: Mitral valve repair was feasible in 21 patients (45%). This repair involved mitral annuloplasty in 16 patients (76%), shortening or transposition of chordae in 10 patients (48%), a pericardial patch in five patients (24%), and suture of perforation in two patients (9%). Associated procedures were aortic valve replacement in seven patients and tricuspid annuloplasty in two. There were no operative deaths. The mean follow up was five years (one to 11). One patient was reoperated for severe mitral regurgitation and another had a stroke due to cerebrovascular embolism in the first postoperative years. No recurrence of infectious endocarditis occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Mitral valve repair in IE gives satisfactory results in terms of survival and symptomatic improvement with a low operative risk. With antibiotic therapy, it provides a cure of mitral lesions even when carried out in the acute phase of endocarditis. Finally, it feasible in several cases with excellent results.     

St Jude's Medical prosthesis in patients over 65

Between September 1979 and December 1982, 56 St Jude Medical valvular prostheses were implanted in 54 patients over 65 years of age. Surgery consisted in simple aortic valve replacement (35 cases), simple mitral valve replacement (12 cases), double aortic and mitral valve replacement (2 cases), valve replacement and coronary artery bypass surgery (3 cases), aortic valve replacement and replacement of the ascending aorta (1 case) and mitral valve replacement and tricuspid annuloplasty (1 case). The operative mortality (within 30 days of surgery) was 3.5% (2 cases). Patients were assessed by clinical examination, ECG, chest X-ray, echocardiogram and laboratory investigations on average 19 months after surgery. There were 3 late deaths (1 endocarditis, 1 cardiac failure and 1 subdural haematoma). No cases of significant haemolysis were observed. There were no cases of thrombosis of the valve or any deaths directly related to the valve. Four patients had cerebral embolism (4.9% per patient/year). None were fatal and only 1 patient had sequellae. Clinical improvement was very significant; 96% of the patients are now in the NYHA Classes I and II whilst 80% were in Class III or IV before surgery. The cardiothoracic ratio decreased significantly from 0.56 to 0.51 (p less than 0.01). The authors conclude that elderly patients may derive great benefits from valvular cardiac surgery and that age in itself is not a contraindication to this type of surgery. The St Jude Medical prosthesis is an excellent prosthesis but thromboembolism remains a major problem as with other mechanical prostheses. Anticoagulation for life is essential.     

金黄色葡萄球菌对心脏瓣膜巨噬细胞集落刺激因子及其受体基因表达影响的实验研究

目的初步探讨金黄色葡萄球菌对心脏瓣膜巨噬细胞集落刺激因子（MCSF-1）及其受体的影响和感染性心内膜炎（IE）的发病机制。方法高低两种剂量金黄色葡萄球菌注射联合手术造成心脏瓣膜损伤的方法分别建立4组IE家兔模型;RT-PCR法检测各组瓣膜的MCSF-1及其受体（c-fms）mRNA的表达水平。结果32例动物中存活26例,其中14／26（53．8％）例发生IE。小剂量组中赘生物产生、细菌培养阳性率显著低于大剂量组（P〈0．05）。手术＋细菌注射可诱导二尖瓣、三尖瓣MCSF-1 mRNA表达明显增加,c-fms mRNA表达明显降低。大剂量细菌注射比小剂量细菌注射诱导二尖瓣MCSF-1 mRNA表达更明显（P〈0．01）,三尖瓣表达差异无统计学意义。结论MCSF-1／c-fms可能是参与IE发生的重要因子之一。左、右心腔对大剂量细菌入侵有不同的抗感染免疫反应,这可能是左、右心IE有不同临床特点的原因之一。     

主动脉瓣及二尖瓣双瓣膜替换手术（附28例报告）

本文叙述了主动脉瓣及二尖瓣双瓣膜替换术。２８例病人均为风湿性心脏病。其中２例合并先天性心脏畸型。全组病例均置入人工机械瓣膜，其中８例同时行三尖瓣成形术。术后早期死亡１例，晚期死亡３例。本文对广义的心肌保护，主动脉瓣病变的判定，二尖瓣全周连续缝合，保留二尖瓣装置，三尖瓣的处理，主动脉瓣替换的一些方法，自体输血以及晚期死亡原因及预防等问题做了讨论。